It’s been a year since the passing of the multi-award-winning rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes.
The iconic South African musician was shot and killed on February 10, 2023, outside the Wish Restaurant on Florida Road, Durban.
His close friend, entertainment entrepreneur, seasoned chef and celebrated author, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane was also a victim of the malicious attack.
No arrests have been made to date.
A week after his passing, AKA’s family, rapper girlfriend, Nadia Nakai, friends, industry peers and his fans, “The Megacy” gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre for a mega celebration of his life.
A day after, on February 18, a private funeral was held and he was buried at the Westpark Cemetery, Randburg.
SupaMega may have had his life cut short, but even through death the legend continued to dominate the music industry.
After careful consideration, the Forbes family decided to release his “Mass Country” album that was already produced and completed before he was murdered.
Fans cherished what would be AKA’s last musical offering. It didn’t take long before the rapper’s songs soared to the top of the charts and won several prizes at numerous music awards throughout 2023.
AKA’s single, “Lemons (Lemonade)” which features Nasty C, went 5X platinum. “Company” went platinum, and “Dangerous”, “Prada” and “Mbuzi (Freestyle)” went gold.
Then, at the South African Music Awards AKA bagged wins for Best Engineered Album, Best Collaboration and the coveted category, Best Male Artist of the Year.
At the Metro FM Music Awards the legend took home wins for Best Collaboration Song, Artist of the Year, Best Hip Hop Artist and Best Male Art.
Later AKA was honoured at the BET Hip Hop Awards with the Global Visionary Award and was nominated in the category, Best International Flow.
That’s not all. At the African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMAs) AKA scooped the Best Male South African award and was nominated for Album of the Year.
“Lemons (Lemonade)” picked up another prize at the DStv Content Creator Awards, while “Company” was nominated for Song of the Year.
It’s evident that despite his demise, AKA’s songs will live rent-free in our heads.
As we remember AKA on his first death anniversary, tributes continue to pour in on social media.